How to get healthy and lose weight by walking

There are plenty of benefits for regular daily strolls: upping your daily movement, getting some fresh air and vitamin D, not to mention the mental health benefits that accompany getting outside.

© Claudio Lavenia – Getty Images
This 28-day walking for weight-loss plan will help you hit the road and weight-loss goals, as well as reap all the rewards that come with time spent outdoors.

And, if it happens to be one of your goals, walking can help you lose weight, too.

Personal trainer Sam McGowan has devised this four-week walking for weight-loss plan for beginners, exclusively for Women’s Health.

Wait – is walking good for weight-loss?

Super-sweaty HIIT home workouts are not the only exercise option if you’re looking to lose body fat.

“When it comes to weight-loss, movement in general is great – it’s all about energy balance,” McGowan explains. In other words, you need to be expending more energy (calories) than you’re taking in.

“Here’s a super simple way of looking at it,” McGowan says. “When we’re trying to lose weight we need to be in a calorie deficit – this means burning more calories than we’re eating.”

Increasing our daily movement – through an activity we can perform for a sustained period, like walking – is an a great way to increase our daily calorie expenditure.

While any form of exercise will help you increase your daily burn (some potentially in a shorter time), walking for weight-loss is also a lot more accessible for people. It doesn’t require more than a very basic level of fitness and strength. Plus, it doesn’t require any kit – beyond a good pair of trainers, and – optional but highly recommended – a binge-worthy podcast.

Benefits of walking for weight-loss

Convinced yet? Let’s lace up…

Walking for weight-loss: correct form

Before you throw on your Stan Smiths and head for your local park, you need to know that you could put yourself at risk of injury if you don’t pay attention to your posture.

Yes, walking may be a low-impact exercise, but you need to do it right.

Brita Forsstrom, Alexander Technique teacher and member of STAT (The Society of Teachers of the Alexander Technique) shares her walking technique checklist:

1. Walk tall

Lift your torso up and out of your hips and sense your body “lengthening”. This will prevent you lapsing into a slouch and “walking heavy”.

“Good posture allows you to take full breaths and fully engage your core muscles, as well as your legs and glutes to achieve a better, more powerful stride,” says David Wiener, training specialist at fitness app Freeletics.

2. Look up

Your head weighs around 4.5kg, so don’t drag yourself down by staring at the ground. Cast your gaze forward, so your head is balanced on your neck and spine.

3. Take smaller steps

By keeping your body upright, you will be able to land with your feet directly underneath your body – this will help you to walk lightly.

“Over striding can be the cause of injuries so make sure the steps you take aren’t too big which can add additional pressure to your joints,” Wiener explains.

4. Use your arms

Keep your elbows bent at 90 degrees, your wrists and hands neither floppy or rigid, and move your arms backwards and forwards slightly across your body.

“A strong-arm motion can burn 5-10 per cent more calories and add speed, which will again increase calorie burn,” says Wiener.

5. Walk with control

Take time to practise walking more slowly than you would normally, so you can be conscious of whether your footfall is light or heavy, whether your head feels poised on your neck and spine, and whether you can sense unnecessary tension in your arms, shoulders and back.

6. Nail your foot-strike technique

“Strike the ground heel-first and roll through the step from the heel to the toe, pushing back off with your toe before striking the ground again heel first,” Wiener says.

Walking for weight-loss: a four-week plan

McGowan designed this plan particularly for beginner exercisers who want to lose weight. But, if you’re just looking to get your daily steps up, stick around – this plan is an effective way to help you build up walking stamina. Plus, it helps to have a plan if you’re aiming for a higher step count.

Note: 10k steps will require about 1 hour and 45 min of walking, McGowan says.

How to get healthy and lose weight by walking

Week 1

• Monday: 3 x 10-min walks, easy pace
• Tuesday: 30-min walk, brisk
• Wednesday: 30-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Thursday: 30-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Friday: 30-min walk, brisk + workout of your choice
• Saturday: 2 x 30-min walks, easy pace
• Sunday: 60-min walk, brisk

Week 2

• Monday: 3 x 20-min walks, easy pace
• Tuesday: 30-min walk, brisk + 1 x 15-min walk, easy pace
• Wednesday: 35-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Thursday: 35-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Friday: 30-min walk, brisk + workout of your choice
• Saturday: 2 x 40-min walks, easy pace
• Sunday: 75-min walk, brisk

Week 3

• Monday: 4 x 15-min walks, easy pace
• Tuesday: 30-min walk, brisk + 1 x 30-min walk, easy pace
• Wednesday: 40-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Thursday: 40-min walk, easy pace + strength workout
• Friday: 30-min walk, brisk + workout of your choice
• Saturday: 2 x 45-min walks, easy pace
• Sunday: 90-min walk, brisk

Week 4

• Monday: 4 x 20-min walks, easy pace
• Tuesday: 40-min walk, brisk + 1 x 30-min walk, easy pace
• Wednesday: 2 x 30-min walks, brisk + strength workout
• Thursday: 2 x 30-min walks, brisk + strength workout
• Friday: 30-min walk, brisk + workout of your choice
• Saturday: 2 x 60-min walks, easy pace
• Sunday: 105-min walk, brisk

Glossary

Walk, easy pace: Think of this as one step up from a stroll. You shouldn’t be out of breath, and should still be able to hold a conversation.

Walk, brisk: “Up your speed so it feels more like a workout,” McGowan says. Walk with purpose and aim to raise your heart rate.

Do I need to do other workouts, too?

That depends – how soon do you want to hit your goals? Every little bit of movement helps. Strength workouts also have the added benefits of increasing your muscle mass (meaning you’ll burn more calories at rest), and helping build stronger bones and joints.

As we touched on previously, achieving a calorie deficit is key to achieving weight-loss with this plan. If you’re not sure how to do that, we suggest you check out our guide to how many calories you need for healthy, sustainable weight-loss.

If walking is all you’re after right now, no problem. Feel free to skip those recommendations. Instead, try to keep your daily movement up during the day (take regular breaks to stretch your legs, walk while on the phone, work standing up… you know the drill).

If you do want to tack on additional sessions, these can be anything from 20 – 45 minutes long. Not sure where to start? Allow us…

20-min resistance band legs and glutes workout

20-min cardio + resistance workout

28-min HIIT workout

40-min upper body + core workout

45-min BBG Bootcamp full-body workout

45-min full-body strength workout